An international research team consisting mainly of Japanese students have developed what they believe to be the new world’s thinnest video screen, with the application of soap bubbles as the unconventional means of displaying images.

The 3-strong team from Japan and the USA consisted of Yoichi Ochiai (University of Tokyo (Japan)), Keisuke Toyoshima (University of Tsukuba (Japan)), and Alexis Oyama (Carnegie Mellon University (USA)), and they claim to be able to beam images onto the membrane of a bubble, with the move already rumoured to be one that could offer new developments in the ‘thin and flexible’ screen market, by going even smaller than before, with the ‘screen’ having the added natural benefit of being completely transparent when ‘switched off’.

The process is noted as working with the introduction of projecting ultrasonic sound to the bubble (held in-place and modified through a new solution to be more resilient), which in turn alters the ‘properties’ of the membrane to project an image or video, with 3D footage also claimed to be possible through the method. Reporters already claim that the mixture could be used in the process of creating new commercial TV screens, as well as a possible new way to create ‘flexi-screens’ (as seen by Samsung in November last year).

An interesting sidenote of the newly-developed resilient bubble mixture is that objects are able to pass through completely without bursting it, potentially creating scientific applications away from the TV screen.

The team wrote of their breakthrough discovery in a blog post, stating: “It is common knowledge that the surface of a bubble is a micro-membrane. It allows light to pass through and displays the colour on its structure. We developed an ultra-thin and flexible BRDF screen using the mixture of two colloidal liquids. There have been several researches on dynamic BRDF display in the past. However, our work is different in several points. Our membrane screen can be controlled using ultrasonic vibrations. The combination of the ultrasonic waves and ultra-thin membranes makes more realistic, distinctive and vivid imageries on screen. This system contributes to open up a new path for display engineering with sharp imageries, transparency, BRDF and flexibility.”

The bubble is said to change in both transparency and surface state based on the ultrasound feed coming onto it, with demonstrations by the team depending on the waves of ultrasonic sound beamed onto it. This sort of discovery would generally be seen as one that is more fitting to the date of 1 April, so pre-empting the potential for disbelief (amongst other reasons), the team have created a video clip (in non-bubble form) to demonstrate and explain the process, which can be seen at the bottom of the page.

Methods said to have been tested successfully so far for the bubble screen include ‘projector’ images and general video, a ‘3D volume screen’ (created through a number of screens being put together), and a ‘holographic projection’ effect (through a similar set-up), and while there are probably some kinks to work out (such as projecting the ultrasound without making as much of a noise), it is a development that is unlikely to see its literal bubble burst in the near future.

Regularly at the forefront of developing both technology and quirky products, could ‘Bubblevision’ end up being a popular combination of the two categories that can be proudly chalked up to Japanese influence? If anything, hopefully there will not be too many soap opera (‘soaps on soap’) puns before it gets popular…

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